The Endangered Species Act has wreaked havoc for decades on rural communities, but a newly filed lawsuit could force San Francisco urbanites like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to share their pain. A federal complaint filed this week contends that the Hetch Hetchy Project, which supplies water to San Francisco and the Bay Area, has unfairly enjoyed an exemption from the “severe cutbacks” required in rural California in order to save endangered fish species. Craig Manson, who heads the Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy and Reliability (CESAR) in Fresno, said the lawsuit is aimed at addressing the “double standard” that...

Suspected dissidents disappear after midnight visits to their homes; chilling screams can again be heard from Idi Amin's infamous torture chambers, reopened after a quarter of a century of disuse. From the few that escape come tales of punishment beatings and even mass executions. Welcome to President Yoweri Museveni's Uganda. One of Britain's favourite African states in recent years has, almost unnoticed in the West, become a sinister land where a corrupt regime uses its secret police to rule through fear. The reasons for this transition are not hard to fathom. Mr Museveni has ruled Uganda since 1986, when his...

A snippet of MIT economist Jonathan Gruber speaking candidly has resurfaced, but this time it’s about himself rather than American voters. “I’m an ivory tower guy at heart and do my thing and figure I’m an honest guy and people will trust it,” Gruber told Politico in Jan. 2010. The self-description is likely to resonate with the public after several videotaped recordings surfaced this week of Gruber calling Americans “stupid” and bragging about how “a lack of transparency” was necessary to pass Obamacare. Gruber called himself “an ivory tower guy” after it came to light that he had been paid...

Tuesday night the Houston Chronicle published a story about the grand jury that indicted Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Those grand jurors who spoke with the Chronicle broke the law to do so, and they knew that they were breaking the law. They claimed that they were speaking to the newspaper to counter Gov. Perry’s “spin” on the case. That’s not the job of a grand jury, by the way. One of them is a woman named Rho Chalmers. Chalmers tried to get around her lawbreaking by attempting to build this wall of implausible deniability. Rho Chalmers, who name matches that...

The school teachers lounge is a respite from more than just bratty kids. It’s a safe zone from the long arm of Michelle Obama’s food police. Students are already revolting against the newly-implemented school snack regulations that affect what is sold in vending machines. They will probably be equally upset to learn the vending machine just across the hall – in the teachers lounge – is exempt from the regulations.

That's the title of a new book by Fred Jerome, a compilation of essays from these and other noteworthies: This anthology features essays by revolutionary thinkers, activists, and artists-including Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, civil rights activist Angela Davis, incarcerated journalist Mumia Abu Jamal, and economist Rick Wolff- addressing various aspects of a new society and, crucially, how to get from where we are now to where we want to be, living in a society that is truly fair and just. I suppose that's one way to describe their vision. I might ask the question, "fair and just for whom"?...

Actor Andy Serkis is set to direct an upcoming movie adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm. But there will be a slight deviation from the story’s original focus: rather than serve as a cautionary tale about Communist totalitarianism, this updated version will address Hollywood’s predictable, go-to embodiment of evil, the Darth Vader of our time: corporate greed. Orwell’s brilliant allegory Animal Farm was written during World War II as a satire on Soviet Communism (and very nearly wasn’t published, critical as it was of our Russian ally). It has since been adapted to film twice, a British animated...

I'm annoyed that so many Hollywood celebrities hate the system that made them rich. Actor/comedian Russell Brand told the BBC he wants "a socialist, egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth." Director George Lucas got rich not just from movies but also by selling Star Wars merchandise. Yet he says he believes in democracy but "not capitalist democracy." Actor Martin Sheen says, "That's where the problem lies ... It's corporate America." And so on. On my TV show, actor/author Kevin Sorbo pointed out that such sentiments make little sense coming from entertainers. "It's a very entrepreneurial business. You...

As CNN points out, that is simply false: Sebelius is actually legally allowed to get insurance over the exchange but she would have to forego the employer contribution to her premiums. In the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan, that employer contribution accounts for a majority of her premiums. In order to get a private health insurance plan through Obamacare, Sebelius would have to pass up what surely amounts to more than $10,000 in annual compensation.

Apparently not satisfied with just setting fire to the 4th Amendment, NSA boss Keith Alexander's next target is the 1st Amendment. In an interview with the Defense Department's "Armed With Science" blog , it appears that Alexander felt he'd have a friendly audience, so he let loose with some insane claims, including suggesting that the government needs to find a way to "stop" journalists from reporting on the Snowden leaks . As noted by Politco, General Alexander isn't a fan of journalists doing anything about these documents: "I think it’s wrong that that newspaper reporters have all these documents,...

Another day on the ACA (Animal) Farm (Plantation) The Affordable Care Act will automatically force people on Medicaid when they qualify. Affordable Care Act drops the asset test to qualify for Medicaid. Another side effect of the ACA private insurance is too expensive for the average American to afford. Where a lot of private insurance companies are dropping people now or increasing their rates due to the requirements of the ACA. If you are not effected yet, you will be in the next year or two. Sum it up, if you own a house, but qualify for subsidized health insurance...

Whatever the perceived shortcomings of Ted Cruz and his hardy band of stalwarts, they've performed a remarkable public service by highlighting the fate that awaits all who rub wrongly the translucently thin skin of King Barack the Petulant. The Spartans may have had their shields, Native Americans their tomahawks and arrows, the Samurai may have wielded his sword with all the deadly grace of a tiger in mid-attack, but pound for pound, nothing comes close to the audacious stupidity of "Barrycades" and people in pointy little Smokey the Bear hats, poised to protect America's monuments from law-abiding citizens Welcome to...

I would like to get all my friends and family dvd's of the old "Animal Farm" movie for Christmas. I saw it for sale at Dollar Tree once, so I know they are available cheap somewhere in the public domain. Does anyone know where I can buy some?

The Senate this week warned lawmakers and their staff not to sign up for Obamacare’s health exchanges, saying that the administration hasn’t yet finalized the rules for how to keep paying for their premiums. “Members and staff are advised that they should delay enrolling in health insurance plans until we are able to offer further guidance as to how they should enroll in these insurance plans for 2014,” the Senate disbursing office said in an email to staffers Monday. “Premature enrollment could adversely impact eligibility for the employer premium contribution.” The health exchanges are slated to open next week, and...

With our civil liberties continually under threat from this Administration, I offer to the American people a good news/bad news combo that is sure to serve as a bittersweet victory for those who have opposed the IRS’ campaign of harassment against political dissidents. Lois Lerner, the embattled IRS official who was in charge of overseeing the tax exempt division of the IRS that has been routinely targeting and harassing conservative and Tea Party groups for years, has retired. Good riddance….However, the sound of the other shoe dropping is heard as Lerner can now look forward to over $50,000 in annual...

Full Title Liberal Activist Ed Asner Explains Hollywood Silence On Obama, Syria: They 'Don't Want to Feel Anti-Black (Hollywood Reporter) In 2003, ahead of a U.S. attack on Iraq, a robust anti-war movement in Hollywood included a TV commercial starring Martin Sheen and Sean Penn visiting Baghdad. There were online petitions signed by Ed Asner; letters to President George W. Bush pleading for peace were signed by Matt Damon, Tim Robbins, Barbra Streisand and Alec Baldwin; former M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell fronted multiple press conferences where celebrities denounced war. In interviews, Janeane Garofalo stopped identifying herself as an actor --...

VANCOUVER, B.C., August 12, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – When homosexual news service Daily Xtra reported last week that both Vancouver police and city officials “confirmed they had no issues with public nudity” at the city’s annual gay Pride Parade, LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) deemed necessary a fact check with the guardians of law and order. Canada’s Criminal Code makes it illegal to be nude in a “public place.” Section 174 states that a person who is “so clad as to offend against public decency or order” is “guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.” While reports about this year’s August 4 gay...

Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and a group of other CEOs and former world leaders have formed a group whose goal is to end capitalism as we know it. The nonprofit, known as “The B Team,” was created to help promote a “better version of capitalism, one that prioritizes people and planet over profit.” This ignores the fact that capitalism is, by definition, motivated by profit. The team, led by Branson and German businessman Jochen Zeitz, calls for drastic changes in how the economy works. These include “new rules and models for the future of business – not incremental ‘change as...

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano weighed in on the NSA intelligence leaks on Friday, telling NY1 that fears over government surveillance were overblown. “I think people have gotten the idea that there’s an Orwellian state out there that somehow we’re operating in. That’s far from the case,” she told Errol Louis during an appearance on Road to City Hall. Despite civil liberties advocates’ fears that monitoring efforts have gone too far, “there are lots of protections built into the system,” Ms. Napolitano said, pointing to a privacy office embedded in her own department that is “constantly reviewing our policies and...

The uncomfortable effects of government actions are being felt everywhere. Obamacare concerns are, anecdotally, delaying hiring, causing firms to change benefits for the people, and increasing taxes on the great majority. On the other hand, in the context of the "sequester", which is merely a slowdown in the breakneck rate of government spending, anyone who has traveled by plane in the last month knows the full court press efforts under way to ensure the American public knows just how 'devastating' the sequester cuts are - with delays rising exponentially with every dollar removed from the FAA budget. But there...

Congressional leaders of both parties in the House and Senate are trying to exempt themselves--and their staffs--from Obamacare's health insurance exchanges they will be mandated to join under the law. This would be a devastating indictment of Obamacare and the Democrats who rammed it through. Republicans may give Democrats cover if they join them in agreeing to the exemptions. According to a (Politico) the "high-level" talks involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), the Obama administration and other "top lawmakers," and both sides are "acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s failure to recognize political Islam as a driver of jihadist terrorism is partly to blame for the FBI not identifying one of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2011 as a security risk, according to U.S. officials and private counterterrorism analysts. The FBI revealed last week that it was warned by a foreign government in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed Friday, was tied to “radical Islam” but the FBI was unable to confirm the links. “The fact is religion has been expunged from counterterrorism training,” said Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism specialist with the Foundation...

Kathleen Pender of the San Francisco Chronicle also notes that Obama’s plan would not apply to himself: "The limit would not apply to Obama’s own pension, which is worth at least $5 million, because it is not in a tax-advantaged account, according to Brian Graff, executive director of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. Obama’s pension, which guarantees him a Cabinet-level salary for life indexed to inflation, is a “non-qualified deferred compensation plan, similar to what corporate executives get,” he says.

Eighth-graders in Wisconsin’s Union Grove school district were assigned to fill out a “Liberalism vs. Conservatism” crossword puzzle, and they learned some new and very questionable “facts.” Students learned conservatism is “the political belief of preserving traditional moral values by restricting personal freedoms … ” Conversely, they learned liberalism is “the political belief of equality and personal freedom for everyone, often changing the current system to increase government protection of civil liberties.” See the photos here. The crossword puzzle was part of a civics assignment that was forwarded to EAGnews by Tamara Varebrook, a local conservative activist whose eighth-grade daughter...

A mother at a Wisconsin public school said her daughter’s eighth grade class was assigned a worksheet with some eyebrow-raising definitions for “conservatism” and “liberalism.” Conservatism, it stated in part, believes in “preserving traditional moral values by restricting personal freedoms” while liberalism is for “equality and personal freedom for everyone.” “This is indoctrination,” Tamra Varebrook, a Republican activist in Racine, Wis., told TheBlaze on Thursday after her 13-year-old daughter showed her the crossword-style vocabulary sheet from Union Grove Elementary School earlier this week. Varebrook first talked about the assignment with the news arm of the conservative Education Action Group. Varebrook...

A California billionaire is pledging to spend as much of his fortune as necessary to make climate change “the defining issue of our generation.” Tom Steyer, who made his riches as a hedge fund manager, told The Hill on Tuesday that he wants to make climate change a campaign issue for years to come and Democratic support for environmental protections as widespread as support for gay marriage and immigration reform. “The goal here is not to win. The goal here is to destroy these people. We want a smashing victory,” Steyer said of candidates he judges to be on the...

Hugo Chavez net worth: Hugo Chavez was a Venezuelan politician who had a net worth of $1 billion at the time of his death on March 5th 2013. Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was born in was born July 28, 1954 in Sanbaneta, Venezuela. When he died, Chavez had been the President of Venezuela since February 2, 1999. At age 17, Chavez enrolled in the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences, graduating in 1975 as a sub-lieutenant with a degree in Military Arts & Sciences. Upon completing his studies, Chavez entered active military service as a member of a counter insurgency battalion...

Las Vegas Township Constable John Bonaventura will not face criminal charges related to his arrest last week on suspicion of driving under the influence, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said. In a statement, Wolfson said that although Bonaventura’s preliminary breath test showed he was over the legal blood-alcohol limit when he was pulled over Feb. 12, that test is not admissible in court. An arrest report indicates he registered a level of 0.099 on that test. A second, admissible breath test showed Bonaventura’s blood-alcohol level at 0.069, below the legal limit of 0.08. That test was administered at the...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is speaking out against a cut in congressional pay because she says it will undermine the dignity of their positions. "I think we should respect the work we do," Pelosi said. "I think it's necessary for us to have the dignity of the job that we have rewarded."

I received the info below from FNC’s Thomas Firth but it caught my attention so I thought I would post it. Note that Facebook played it both ways (also giving to Repubs, including Gov Romney) but gave generously to President Obama (numbers below.) Why does Facebook give to both political parties? Just in case Republicans won and they would then want a cozy relationship with the Republicans…and because it can (it has a ton of money.) Note also the info about its lobbyists…check out the jobs they held before became lobbyists for Facebook. Read and tell me what you think.

<p>Facebook didn't pay any federal or state income taxes last year and will receive a hefty tax refund, according to a recent report.</p>
<p>How did the social network manage to swing such a nice tax break?</p>

In an explosive exchange outside the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C., security guards for billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg accosted senior Talk Radio Network investigative reporter Jason Mattera when he asked the mayor about his strong support for gun control.

In a landmark settlement, the Pentagon has agreed to give full back pay to U.S. service members who were discharged due to their sexual orientation under the military's “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The payouts will be granted to service members dismissed from the military under the now-repealed policy on or after November 2004. “This means so much to those of us who dedicated ourselves to the military, only to be forced out against our will for being who we are,” former Air Force Staff Sgt. Richard Collins said in a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought...

Old Sam Donaldson is back in the news. You remember Sam, don't you? Physically, he tends to remind one of an eagle. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have the vision of one - particularly in regard to our future. Here's what Sam had to say last weekend: "It's the Tea Party and thinking of the Tea Party and people like that that are driving the Republicans out of contention as a national party. You cannot win nationally if you don't know something about the way the country's changed, and the Tea Party seems to think the country can go back...

Google was the third largest source of Obama’s campaign cash. A number of Google executives took jobs within Obama Inc and Google’s PAC has plowed large amounts of money into the Democratic Party. Google’s creepy ex-CEO Eric Schmidt was a major Obama donor and campaign advisor, and was even considered for a Cabinet post. Schmidt was on Obama’s transition board and is a member of his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Suppose there were a worldwide movement which openly proclaimed its goal of taking over in your country and every country with the purpose of imposing its system on every human beings on earth. Also suppose that this movement had carried out murders and terrorist attacks in your own country, that members of this group promoted violence while gaining political influence. Suppose also that is was highly unfashionable and politically incorrect to speak out against them. I am not speaking of Islam here, but of Communism. The current wave of censorship and denial toward Islam is not a new development. It...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog The following rich liberals have all used legal tax shelters to legally lower theirÂ taxes The following rich liberals have all used legal tax shelters to legally lower their taxes:Debbie Wasserman SchultzThe Weekly Standard reports:Disclosure forms reveal that Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a member of Congress from Florida, previously held funds with investments in Swiss banks, foreign drug companies, and the state bank of India. This revelation comes mere days after the Democratic chair attacked presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for holding money in Swiss bank accounts in the past.Nancy PelosiThe Daily...

President Obama opened a controversy when he made the following comments during a campaign stop at a fire station in Roanoke, Virginia: If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business. you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money...

First lady Michelle Obama took her inspirational family story on the road over the weekend, telling the graduating class of Oregon State University that having a corner corporate office and a big paycheck isn’t the prize it looks like when entering the job market. “Success isn’t about how your life looks to others, it’s about how it feels to you,” Obama said Sunday, retelling how she and her brother, Oregon men’s basketball coach Craig Robinson, grew up in a small Chicago home pushed by parents who said “be true to ourselves.” For both, she said, that meant throwing away their...

Political writing tends to be bad writing, noted George Orwell in his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language.” Too often it's a tool for deception and obfuscation rather than clear communication. Orwell criticizes particularly those who rely on political catch phrases devised by others, throwing their minds open and “letting the ready-made phrases come crowding in.” It's an easy way of avoiding the hard work good writing demands, says Orwell. Catch phrases “will construct your sentences for you - even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent - and at need they will perform the important service...

<p>WFTV has learned charges against George Zimmerman could be getting more serious.</p>
<p>State prosecutors said Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, profiled and stalked 17-year-old Trayvon Martin before killing him, so the FBI is now looking into charging him with a hate crime.</p>

When asked if average Americans should receive the same quality health insurance as that of their elected officials, Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told a group of South Florida healthcare workers that she “earned” her benefits, implying that her constituents had not. “Yes, she really said that,” related Dr. Norman Palgon, a Hallandale Beach-based internist who was in attendance at a forum the Congresswoman conducted last year to garner support for ObamaCare. The good doctor was non-too-pleased with what he clearly felt was the congresswoman’s imperious attitude. Wasserman Schultz, 45, who also is Chair of the Democratic National Committee, is...

You may not have realized it, but the current run-up in oil and gasoline prices is actually a right-wing plot to oust President Obama. Big oil companies and/or Wall Street speculators have inflated prices to foment voter unrest and help Republicans seize the White House this fall. The possibility of armed conflict between Israel and Iran has nothing to do with it, or is a contributing factor at best. This theory has been echoing across the blogosphere for weeks now. The most detailed version appeared on the widely read Daily Kos blog, which included a lengthy post on Feb. 26...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken the unusual step of issuing a permit allowing an American Indian tribe in Wyoming to kill two bald eagles for religious purposes. The agency's decision comes after the Northern Arapaho Tribe filed a federal lawsuit last year contending the refusal to issue such permits violates tribal members' religious freedom. Although thousands of American Indians apply for eagle feathers and carcasses from a federal repository, permits allowing the killing of bald eagles are exceedingly rare, according to both tribal and legal experts on the matter.

Close this pigpen! Filth-ridden Zuccotti Park is a breeding ground for bacterial infection loaded with potential health-code violations that pose a major risk to the public, an expert who inspected the area warned. “It’s like Walmart for rats,’’ Wayne Yon, an expert on city health regulations, said yesterday. “There’s a lack of sanitation, a lack of controls for hot and cold water,” Yon said. He saw at least 15 violations of the city’s health code -- the type that would easily shut down a food establishment.

ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Dozens of animals escaped Tuesday from a wild-animal preserve that houses bears, big cats and other beasts, and the owner later was found dead there, said police, who shot several of the animals and urged nearby residents to stay indoors. The fences had been left unsecured at the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville, in east-central Ohio, and the animals' cages were open, police said. They wouldn't say what animals escaped but said the preserve had lions, wolves, tigers, giraffes, camels and bears. They said bears and wolves were among 25 animals that had been shot...

ZANESVILLE, Ohio - Several schools announced that they will not have school on Wednesday after exotic animals escaped a Muskingum County animal farm. The schools are: Maysville Local Schools, Zanesville City Schools, Foxfire Community Schools and West Muskingum Local Schools. Police said they had shot at least 25 of at least 48 escaped exotic animals on Tuesday night. Terry Thompson, the owner of the farm, was found dead outside of his home on the animal farm property. Police said the fences had been left unsecured. According to police, the animals escaped at about 6 p.m. from an animal farm near...